@Lisa and
@floss appear to be infatuated with my stance on the self appointed apostle Paul, without correctly undertanding my stance. Therefore I feel the need to clarify for anyone else who might be confused by the direction of the discussion.
First I don't think the writings of Paul should be removed from the Bible. They are very important in understanding the formation of Christianity and the original sect of the Hebrew Faith that Peter, James and John lead that was called "The Way" in the book of Acts.
Second, though I may have personal questions and concerns about Paul's conversion story and his self appointment as an Apostle, there is no doubt that he had insight and revelations from God and his true gifting was as an Evangelist rather than an Apostle. He was the single greatest contributor to the Gentile world receiving the gospel. So of course his writings should be part of the Bible, but we should be careful to to use interpretations of his difficult to understand writing as the basis for core church doctrines and dogma.
I don't blindly accept every passage that is in the Bible as the "Word of God". Paul himself admitted some portions of his writings were his own ideas and not directly from God. It is absurd to think every word written in the Bible is the direct Word of God. When Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit he did not say the Holy Spirit would remind us of what is written in the scritpures. He said the Holy Spirit would remind us of the words he spoke.
Third, my faith, beliefs and understanding of God's word is in constant evolution and growth. I reserve the right to retract or change my mind/beliefs in the future. Many of you witnessed the process of change and growth on my stance about Paul on this forum and the previous edition of this forum. And it was just that...a process. Often times the process of paradigm change involves the pendulum swinging wildly from one side to the other before the correct balance is found. For those who have been indoctrinated with religious dogma and doctrine that never changes, this may be a new concept.
Fourth, Peter warned that Paul's writings were difficult to understand and had the potential to be destructive. As a former leader/pastor of Institutional Christianity, I observed a direct correlation between doctrines and dogma that come from interpretations of unclear sections of Paul writings and some of the destructive and unhealthy practices and doctrines of hierarchial church organizations. Also many of the opposing doctrines and issues within Orthodox Christianity that bring about division in the church (i.e. predestination vs. free will, grace vs works, role of women in the church, original sin, immortality of the soul, etc) exist mainly due to competing interpretations of Paul's writing. Please note I am not accusing Paul of falsely teaching anything on these subjects, but only that incorrect understanding or interpretation of his writing has caused these divisions, just as Peter predicted.
Because of this I have rejected many doctrines and dogma that are based on interpretations of Paul's writings and prefer to defer to the plain and clear interpretation of the words of Jesus (and those who followed him in the flesh) especailly when they appear contradictory to Paul's writing. Unfortunately most of organized Christianity does the opposite and defers to Paul before Jesus.
I still read the writings of Paul in my Bible and still ask God to give me insight, inspiration and correction though them. There are many scripture references not written by Paul that support and teach the doctrine of UR, but Paul's writing contains alot about it also. I would be remiss to exclude Paul's writings in any discussion about UR, especially when the discussion is with people who place Paul's writings equal to or above Jesus' words. (As Jess correctly pointed out)
Now that I have tried to clearly explain my stance on Paul, please keep your criticism, judgement and condemnation of the state of my soul, consistent with my stated stance
If my stance evolves or changes, I'll do my best to keep you informed so you can keep up!
